


Intruder Alert

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-17
Updated: 2012-11-17
Packaged: 2017-11-18 20:26:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is an intruder on the Cottage grounds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intruder Alert

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Green Floating Weirdness #1 under the pen name Gillian Holt.

_"If that's what you call it."_

 

          Lt. Colonel Paul Ironhorse was awake, out of bed, dressed, and slipping his weapons into place before he fully realized that the intruder alarm had sounded.  Punching the intercom button on his bedside phone, the colonel contacted the Cottage's guest house where his Omega Squad was quartered.  "Report."

          "Sir," came Coleman's voice over the speaker.  "The sensors at the gate were triggered.  The security kicked in, and we seem to have one intruder.  He must have scaled the gate or the wall because the lock is still secure.  He seems to be working his way toward the Cottage from the west."

          "I'll activate the secondary security system in the house," the colonel told her.  "Have Stravakos, Alverez, and Goodson report to the Cottage.  You and Derriman split the rest and get into position on either side of our guest."

          "Yes, sir."

          Ironhorse terminated the connection and headed upstairs to wake the others.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Norton was just rolling out of his room when Ironhorse arrived.  "What's up?" he asked the soldier.

          "Intruder on the grounds.  You and the others need to get downstairs and under cover.  The secondary security system's been activated so the computer's down, and—"

          "And the storage ROMS are sinking into their little bunker as we speak," Norton finished.  "I'll run the purge program off the emergency generator."  Spinning his wheelchair around he headed for the elevator.

          "Mr. Drake, how did you know there was a problem?" Ironhorse asked.

          "I wired the alarms to the Cray and then directed them up to my room through the intercom," he said without turning.

          Ironhorse shook his head.  The man _was_ a genius.  Reaching Suzanne's door, he knocked.  "We've had a security breach, grab what you need and report to the basement," he yelled.

          Harrison Blackwood stuck his head around his bedroom door.  "Who is it?"

          "We don't know, Doctor, but it appears to be a single individual."

          Blackwood nodded.  If it were the aliens they probably would have sent more than one.  Three, maybe, and probably more than that.  The astrophysicist shut the door, but emerged a minute later dressed and carrying his backpack.  He met Suzanne in the hall as Debi emerged from her room before the colonel could knock.       "Is this another drill?" she asked sleepily.

          "I'm afraid not, Debi," Ironhorse said.  "Now, people, if you'll please get downstairs."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Norton looked up as the foursome entered.  Stravakos, Alverez, and Goodson stood nearby, the latter holding a Geiger-counter in his hand while the other two cradled Uzis.

          "Purge is completed," Drake informed them.  "I'm monitoring the security system, but I haven't been able to get our guest on one of the cameras…  Yet.  He must be aware they're there and he's keeping to the shadows."

          Ironhorse walked to a small metal box mounted on the wall and opened it.  Pressing one button froze and locked the elevator in place.  A second closed a steel door across the stairs, trapping them in the basement.  The third switch electronically locked the annex doors with steel rods slamming into place, the sound echoing through the room.

          "I'm taking us off regular power and onto the backup supply," he said, flipping the fourth.  The lights flickered as the generator's hum kicked in.

          The Colonel turned to the group of worried faces.  "All right, people, you're sealed in.  I'm going out.  Give me two minutes and activate the last lock so you'll be safe."

          "Yes, sir," Stravakos said, walking over to stand by the box.

          "Paul, be careful," Suzanne said, wrapping her arm around her daughter.  Debi watched the soldier, her big blue eyes sparkling with building tears.

          "I'll be fine," he promised.

          "Good luck, big guy," Norton said as Ironhorse turned and strode toward the last exit through the gym.

          "Colonel?" Blackwood called as Ironhorse's hand closed on the knob.

          The officer looked over his shoulder at the astrophysicist.  "If anything…"  He trailed off.  "Keep the fight going, people.  We'll win."  With that he pulled the door open and left.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Moving through the darkness, Ironhorse felt a familiar tingle wash across his skin.  Battle hum.  His senses were all working at the limit of their capabilities, and the regular night sounds were loud in his ears.  The light from a third-quarter moon made movement over the Cottage grounds easy, but Ironhorse stayed low and near the bushes and trees, hoping the shadows would kept him hidden from whoever was moving in on the house.  A single click on his radio stalled the colonel's forward progress.

          He whispered into the walkie-talkie, "Apple three, Apple one."

          "Apple three.  Sectors one through six are clear," Coleman informed him.

"Apple five, Apple one."

          "Apple five.  Sectors seven through nine are clear," responded Derriman.

          Damn, Ironhorse thought.  That meant the intruder was somewhere near the Cottage.  "Apple three, Apple one, move into sectors ten and eleven.  Apple five, take sectors fourteen and fifteen."

          A pair of double clicks registered the two soldiers' acknowledgement of the orders.

          "Apple four, Apple one.  Any activity?"

          "Negative, Apple one."

          Well, at least the guest house was quiet.  That left the Cottage.  "Apple two, Apple one."

          "All quiet here, too," Stravakos informed him.

          "What are the sensors saying?" Ironhorse asked.  The guy must be invisible!

          "Movement in sector fourteen," Norton's voice informed him.

          "Apple five?"

          "We don't see a thing, Apple one."

          "Damn," Ironhorse breathed.  Where they hell was the guy?  _What_ the hell was he?

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Derriman felt his muscles tighten further.  The intruder was in his sector, but he didn't see a damned thing.  He squinted into the shadows.  Motioning Peters off to the right, the sergeant eased into the shadows of two tall maples.  A slight rustling caught his attention and his hand moved automatically for the radio as the Uzi came up.  He clicked his personal code, and felt Peters respond.

          Freezing in place, Derriman scanned the landscape, trying to pick the direction that the sound had come from.  Nothing.  Maybe he'd been wrong…

No.  There it was again.  The guy must be crouched down low, or on his hands and knees.

          The sergeant clicked again, alerting the others that he'd heard the intruder.  There was more noise as the intruder eased through a bush.  Derriman gripped the Uzi tighter.  No alien was going to absorb him…

A soft snort…

          Snort?

          A low but menacing growl sounded just before Derriman felt the alien's hand close on his ankle.  He jumped, the weapon swinging down and sighting on…

A rat?

          No.  A dog.

          A Chihuahua.

          The soldier let the breath he was holding out.  A dog?  He reached down and pulled the animal off his pant leg.  The tiny canine bared its teeth at the man, snapped, then growled again in a squeaky voice.

          "I'll give you guts, pup," he said softly.  Taking the radio he keyed it, saying, "I've, uh, apprehended the intruder, Apple one."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Ironhorse's eyebrows rose.  "Good work, Sergeant.  Escort him to the parking lot."

          "Yes, sir," Derriman replied.

          The colonel wasn't sure, but he thought he'd heard a trace of laughter in the non-com's voice.  Impossible.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Ironhorse stalked into the small parking lot between the Cottage and the guest house, his eyes automatically sweeping the grounds.  "Norton, any more activity?"

          "Nada, Colonel.  Everything's quiet."

          "Colonel, I'm coming up," Blackwood's voice echoed over the radio.

          "That's a negative, Doctor."

          "Too late," Norton said.

          "Damn," the soldier breathed.  The man was simply impossible.  "Alverez!"

          "Yes, sir!"

          "Stay with Blackwood."

          "Yes, sir!"

          The other members of the Omega squad began assembling in the parking area, several members using Geiger counters to sweep each other.  Blackwood emerged from the Cottage, Suzanne beside him, and Alverez trailing, his weapon ready for trouble.

          "Doctors, what the hell do you think this is?"

          "Colonel, we know what this might be, but if it's what—"

          "Here comes Derriman," Coleman announced, silencing the argument before it started.

          The colonel and the two Project members turned to watch the approaching sergeant.

          "Well, sir, here it is," Derriman said, walking up to join them and holding the dog up at arm's length, two-fingered, by the scruff of its neck.  The animal's hind legs kicked furiously and its tail whipped from side to side in indignation.

          "A dog?" Blackwood and Suzanne chorused.

          "If that's what _you_ call it," the colonel said under his breath.

          Blackwood leveled a disgusted expression on the soldier.

          Derriman fought to keep from smiling.  "He was lying in wait for me in sector fifteen," he drawled.  "When the attack came it was sudden and well placed.  Luckily, I was able to wrestle him off my ankle and apprehend him before any permanent damage was done to my person... Sir."

          The dog yapped.

          Ironhorse gave in to the crooked smiled that demanded immediate release.  "I see, Sergeant.  But how, exactly, did the intruder manage to get the drop on you?"

          "Sir," Derriman replied, a grin escaping.  "You might say I just… stepped into it."

          "Maybe you should have stepped _on_ it, Sarge," Stravakos whispered, loud enough for the others to hear.

          Suzanne giggled and it quickly spread to Blackwood, then to the gathered soldiers.  The tension of the moment was quickly dispelled in laughter.  Stravakos, Goodson, Norton and Debi joined them outside, the laughter growing louder as Derriman embellished the tale for their benefit – Ironhorse finally joined in as well.

          "He's cute," Debi said, rescuing the tiny dog from the sergeant.  Cradling it in her arms, she kissed the top of its head and received a lick under her chin in reply.  "Can we keep him?"

          "I don't know, Deb," Suzanne said.

          "Besides," Ironhorse said, reaching for the dog.  "He has a collar."  The tiny canine showed its teeth and growled, striking out at the colonel's fingers when they came in reach.  "Hey!" he yelled at the dog.

          Two weepy, beady black eyes regarded the soldier with contempt.  It growled again and clamped down harder.

          "You scared him," Debi said, hugging the Chihuahua closer.  He released the colonel's fingers.  Reaching down, she checked the tag hanging off the rhinestone-studded red leather.  "It's a license.  We can call the Humane Society and they can tell us who the owner is."

          "And you'll need a tetanus shot," Suzanne said with a grin.  Ironhorse glowered at the beast.

          "Oh, and look, there's a tag on the collar, too."  Debi pulled the thin strip of sparkling leather around so she could read it.  "His name's Jaws?"

          The assembled group burst into laughter while the colonel inspected his finger.


End file.
